MOS DEF THE ECSTATIC OFF SPOTIFY UPDATE

Mos made a moderately controversial half-rock album a decade ago dubbed The New Danger and “Sunshine” is from the other half, which not enough purists heard due to said controversy. Mos Def, “Sunshine” ( The New Danger, 2004) (Not that Trina, by the way, but the duo were sisters of ’90s R&B star Jesse Powell.) - A.U.

MOS DEF THE ECSTATIC OFF SPOTIFY UPDATE

Trina & Tamara, “Joanne” ( Trina & Tamara, 1999)Ī ’90s R&B update of “Jolene,” lacking Dolly’s pathos but including a clever ‘Ye flip of George Benson’s “Californai Dreaming” cover. Remember Baby Bash’s “Suga Suga” or Lil’ Flip’s “Sunshine,” guys? This sounds like those one-off crossover hits, but a little bit creakier. Maybe the real reason Foxy went to jail was to pay for the overabundant Triangle Sally-ing she lets Kanye do on this 1999 Chyna Doll deep cut. Foxy Brown, “My Life” ( Chyna Doll, 1998) Hard to argue with the lift from Alphaville’s new-wave classic, even if it tends to overwhelm Jay’s slightly tired-sounding verses a little. Hudson, “Young Forever” ( The Blueprint 3, 2009) GLC, “I Did It” ( Love, Life & Loyalty, 2010)īefore referencing it in “H.A.M.,” Kanye’s love of Eli Porter and his signature line manifested itself in the lovably screwed-down hook to this otherwise marginal GLC track. Not the most enduring thing Yeezy’s ever done, but thickening the drums and backing vocals, then laying some strings over the closest Maroon 5 has come to legitimate funk was an idea worth pursuing, at least. Maroon 5, “This Love (Kanye West Remix)” ( This Love Remixes, 2004) ( Listen to our list-accompanying Spotify playlist here.)Īlso Read Kid Cudi on Kanye West: ‘It’s Gonna Take A Motherf–king Miracle’ to Recover Friendship 101. (He does chime in on a couple tracks, but stops well short of an entire verse on any.) Read on, discover songs you never even knew were ‘Ye’s in the first place, and gain a new appreciation for West’s legacy as a dude who (sometimes) lets other people do the talking for him. It spans from the work Kanye did on forgotten Chi-town rapper Grav’s Down to Earth album back in 1996, all the way up to his work on Madonna’s Rebel Heart album from earlier this month, without a single rap from the late registrant featured. Hence, Kanye Without Kanye: SPIN‘s list of the 101 greatest Yeezus-produced, but not Yeezus-rapped, tracks. But every now and then, he’ll still offer a beat to a worthy (or occasionally less so) contemporary without speaking on the track, just to remind us that even if he can change the musical conversation with a single line, he hasn’t forgotten which half of the rapper/producer equation he made his bones with. Since then, Yeezy has obviously grown more loquacious, to the point where his lyrics and quotes have become such an integral part of the pop vernacular that you can echo him regularly without even realizing it.

Guest features were sporadic, but generally speaking, Kanye let his beats speak for themselves, with their pitched-up vocal hooks, knocking drums, and instantly striking melodies. By the time of his debut single, 2003’s “Through the Wire,” West had been building his resume as a producer for seven years, manning the decks for hits, deep cuts, and one-offs for Cam’Ron, Talib Kweli, Jay Z, and more. We’ve hung on every word of Kanye West’s for so long - in his verses, on his Twitter, in his interviews - that it’s hard to remember sometimes that he first came to prominence saying nothing at all.

Mos def the ecstatic off spotify